


GunShy

by Karieauthoress (ksrandomme), ksrandomme



Series: Deja Vu [7]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-26
Updated: 2009-03-26
Packaged: 2017-10-19 11:03:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/200130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrandomme/pseuds/Karieauthoress, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrandomme/pseuds/ksrandomme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim picks NOW to push Blair on the issues of Truth, Justice and the Way of the Gun?</p>
            </blockquote>





	GunShy

“This is ridiculous, Jim. It’s a waste of time.”

“Humor me, Sandburg.” Jim growled as he pushed Blair before him into the stall, the paper target clipped to the rack before him. Blair rolled his eyes as Jim continued. “You’ve been kidnapped twice since I met you, and if you’d had proper training, that might not have happened. Now come on, get in there and I’ll show you what’s what.”

Blair sighed. He didn’t want to be here, he was supposed to be taking Jim to the station. The truck was having its annual tune-up, and wouldn’t be ready until the next day. After that spill with Brackett, Jim’s mutterings about carrying a weapon became full blown lectures. And now here they were at Jim’s regular practice range.

Nunie whined as Bagheera yawned from behind Jim’s leg. Both of them knew this was a waste of time, just as much as Blair did. But if it would get the man off his back for a while, he would have to just bite the bullet, so to speak. Jim sent the target out to a respectable 250 feet and gestured for Blair to put on his equipment. Once they were properly prepared, Blair stepped up to the bench.

Butting Jim out of the way, he hefted the weapon, checked the clip, pulled the slide and chambered a round, flicked off the safety, checked his aim and stance automatically and fired off eight rounds. The first four were twin double taps and the final four were taken about a second apart. Rapid and smooth, he was over and done in seconds, flicked the safety back in place, ejected the clip and slid the extra round out of the chamber before placing the weapon back on the bench.

Stepping away from the stall, he held a hand up to Jim as the other man was about to say something. He left the range, returning his ear and eye protection on his way out the door, and went straight to his car. Climbing in behind the wheel, he took several deep breaths to find his center once again.

*’Damn that sucked!’* he thought as he waited for Jim to come out of the range. If there was one thing he didn’t want to be reminded of… “Man, that so SUCKED!”

Inside the range, the panther and the wolf watched as the Sentinel punched the button to retrieve the target, using the time he waited to retrieve his weapon as well, reloading it with quiet efficiency. With the weapon stowed the human watched the paper target make its final approach to the front. The eight neat little holes in the target attested to the Shaman’s proficiency with the weapon he had used. Head and heart would have been hit twice; each arm and each leg was also struck.

The Sentinel let out a low whistle as he viewed the results. Bagheera yawned as he watched the human fold the target and stick it in a pocket. Nunie snorted once. Perhaps now the Sentinel would listen to his Shaman when he spoke.

o-O-o

“Seriously man, I have three words for the city planners, ‘Night Work Only’!” Blair eased off on the brake just enough for the Corvair to inch its way up to a street light that was only five yards or so in front of them. On both sides, the construction crews ignored the honking of the vehicles that crawled by with a snail’s pace.

“So, what about lunch when we get past this, partner?” asked Jim as he watched the little old lady in the Chevrolet parked at the cross street to be sure she didn’t head out before her time. Blair shrugged.

“Chinese?” he asked half watching the direction he was going, half watching the traffic around him. He slammed on the brakes just as the little old lady pulled out of the cross street and pulled in front of him. “Damn it!”

Jim sat up for a better look at the woman’s license plate. Handicapped, figured. “Let it go Chief,” he muttered. Blair nodded dejectedly as he waited for the traffic to move again. “So, what are you thinking, that Mandarin place on third?”

Blair shrugged, “Or we could just go out for pizza, I guess.”

He really wasn’t paying attention. The stunt with the shooting range, and then this traffic, had his mind in a jumble. Add to that the snips and snarls from the spirit animals sitting in the back of the car, and Blair was just not really all there. He was feeling antsy for some reason he couldn’t pin down. The hair was rising on the back of his neck, sweat was prickling his upper lip and his hands were beginning to shake. He had all the signs of an adrenaline shock but he couldn’t understand the need for such a thing. Deep down inside, he felt as if he was about to find himself in the middle of more trouble.

And hasn’t that just been the way ever since he had met Jim? Always in trouble of some sort or another. Always seeing danger in the most mundane of times. Take for example, the guy over there by the work truck. He seemed like a nice enough fellow, with his hard hat and his vest and his big gun…

“Ah, Jim?” Blair glanced back over Jim’s shoulder and saw the armored truck across the street. At the same time Jim was gazing over Blair’s shoulder and coming to the conclusion that Blair had hoped *he* was imagining. Obviously he hadn’t been, because before he could form any more words Jim was shoving him down and they were both diving for cover. He heard a yell of ‘Oh Shoot!’ from Jim before hearing the scream of a missile fly overhead.

Jim covered Blair’s head as they heard the explosion that Blair could only surmise was the armored truck. Reacting as the good companion he was, Blair’s hand began a rhythmic squeezing of the arm in his grip, giving Jim an anchor to use his abilities with relative safety. It must have worked as Jim poked his head up cautiously and got a quick look around without losing his head. Then the big cop slid out of his side of the Corvair, dragging Blair with him.

They ran for cover behind another car, Jim keeping Blair in front of him the entire way. Once they were safe away from the action again, Blair caught Jim’s eyes and was pleased to find clarity in the ice blue depths. Jim smiled as he quickly assured him, “I’m ok, Sandburg. Take the cell phone, get help and get out of here.”

Blair nodded, already hitting the speed dial for Simon and the cavalry as he searched for more cover further from the action. Jim left, in search of bad guys no doubt. At one point he heard the man as he called out the voice of authority. “Police! Drop your weapon!”

The hail of gunfire that followed told Blair just what these thugs thought of Jim’s authority. He glanced around the edge of the vehicle he was crouched behind to see his car and a number of others, bullet ridden. “Damn it!”

More gunfire from another direction told Blair that his friend was cut off and would need more backup than the promised troops from Simon. Those were only just now coming up through the traffic as fast as they could get around the human and vehicular obstacles. A snort from his left brought Blair’s attention to Bagheera sitting next to him. “Why aren’t you with Jim?” he hissed at the animal. For an answer, Bagheera looked meaningfully over his shoulder at the Sentinel. Blair followed his gaze and barely noticed the hazy form of Nunie leaning against Jim, his shoulder brushing the man’s hip. “Well, ok then, what’s next?”

Blair flicked his gaze in several directions until he saw Bagheera vanish next to him and re-appear next to a building with a box on the side that held a fire hose. Blair’s eyes lit up. He remembered this! Leaping to his feet, he raced across the street, around and behind the men shooting at the cops and Jim, and mashed his covered elbow into the glass. Pulling the hose out, he quickly turned it on and set the harsh jet of water slamming into his opponents. Blair cackled with glee as the thugs went tumbling into the street and directly against the door of a parked cruiser.

Across the way, Jim was rounding up another man, stopping him cold with a fist to the face. Nunie vanished as soon as it appeared that the crisis was over. Blair knew that Bagheera was also gone. Blair sighed as he went to get a look at the damage to his baby. It wasn't pretty. He started to count the holes in his fender, but then gave up and wandered over to stand at Jim's side disconsolately.

“Nice hose job,” Jim commented. Blair rolled his eyes at his friend.

“Yeah, well it was really no big deal. The hose was there, I got the idea and away I went.” Blair glanced over his shoulder at his car. How was he going to pay for the repair job on this? He sighed as Jim grasped his shoulder gently. It looked like they were both out of transportation for the day now.

Simon walked over and dragged Jim away to explain the situation and Blair walked back to his car, climbed on a nearby trunk and stared at it in disbelief. Where was he going to take the Corvair for repairs of this caliber? Nunie snorted briefly, Blair ignored him. Jim came back soon after, and leaned over to grasp Blair’s shoulder again.

“Feeling a little queasy, Chief? That can happen after something as stressful as this.” Jim was trying to be soothing and understanding. Blair sighed.

“Not feeling queasy, Jim. This isn’t my first time through a gun fight, remember Beverly?” Blair prodded. Jim nodded, no doubt remembering that pell-mell flight up the stairs to stop one of the Juno brothers from taking the head off of the DA. “No, I was more worried about that.”

Jim followed where Blair waved and a pained look flashed across his face. He pulled his cell phone out of Blair’s pocket, where he had put it after having called for backup, and dialed a local number. After a moment, the phone was answered and Jim grinned. “Manny, buddy. Remember my pal, Sandburg? Yeah, the one with all the hair… yeah the classic you were drooling over… no, he’s not looking to sell, that I know of, sorry.”

Blair smiled weakly. He knew there were other people who believed, like he, that the ’66 series 2 Corvair was one of the sleekest, slickest vehicles still on the road, but this wasn't the best time to be reminded of that fact. He made an effort to shake off his gloomy mood as he listened to Jim’s side of the conversation. “So, Manny. There’s been a slight problem… yeah I know, I’m unlucky with cars… Hey that was not my fault! Ok, yeah… thanks, we’ll be there soon.”

Jim shut the phone and held out a hand to Blair who took it as he slipped off the car he had been using as a seat. “Manny says to bring Babe in and he’ll see what he can do.”

Blair nodded. “Thanks Jim. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, well,” Jim started off for the car at a steady clip with Blair right behind him, “Some things can't be helped. Come on, let’s go get her into the shop, then we can still look for lunch. Maybe the deli around the corner?”

Blair smiled. “Yeah, I like the way you think, Ellison.”

o-O-o

Blair thanked the mechanic once again and stepped out the front door of the office. Christine was there to give him a ride to the university, glad to do it, grateful that Blair had called her in the capacity of a friend in need. Blair shook his head at himself. To think that he and Christine were so close, yet still miles apart in the relationship game.

The Corvair could take at least a week to fix. Thankfully none of the slugs had hit the engine and it was mainly body work. Jim had insisted that the price of the repairs was to be tacked on to his bill, but Blair argued that down to half. It would have to wait until his next stipend check, and Manny was quite the forgiving man, telling Blair not to hurry on his account. He knew Jim, therefore by association, he felt he could trust the grad student on this bill.

It wasn’t very far to the university, but Blair had things he needed to get to. So after a quick peck on Christine’s cheek and a hurried ‘See ya’, he headed off for Hargrove Hall to drop off his stuff before his meeting with the Dissertation committee. It had been a week since he had called his main chair to warn the man that he was changing his dissertation.

Sydney was less than pleased, but he was quick to jump in with Blair when he saw the amount of prep-work that he had gotten done. Enough to set a date for a conference with the committee to explain his position and set up a plan of action. And actually the topic for the dissertation hadn’t changed any, just the manner in which it was portrayed. Modern day Sentinels, the Law Enforcement Officers from every spectrum and every division. It might take more time than his original concept. He had some of the elements and he would have to draw a line somewhere. If they would listen to him and agree to his switch, he could have the first couple of chapters to his committee board within weeks.

It would be enough.

It wasn’t what he had planned, but since when had he planned anything? Not since Naomi settled in Vermont long enough for Blair to go back to school. He was… what… 12? He’d been jumping grades back and forth depending on the school district, the state, and the tests. This time he tested into college courses, which had stunned everyone including Naomi.

So it came as no surprise when she started searching out a boarding school for Blair that would take him in based on his tests. Suddenly it appeared as if Naomi Sandburg was becoming Mama Sandburg. He knew she had always wanted him to succeed in whatever he set his eye to. So her baby boy wanted to be a teacher, study anthropology so he could watch the people go by. So she would make sure that happened.

There had been only one little problem.

*”Extra-curricular activities. Really Ms Sandburg, that is the only thing holding your son back in his credits. But I’m sure we can find something here that would be to his liking.”* That’s what the Dean of Lake Champlain Academy of Burlington, Vermont explained to Naomi during the interview. Blair remembered he had to wear a suit at the time, it had been damn uncomfortable.

But Naomi had not been deterred by this little set back. *”And what would you suggest, Mr. Sampson. My son is a very smart, very bright boy. Give him a task and he will do his best to accomplish it.”*

So Doctor Sampson had taken Blair in and shown him around. Naomi elected to remain in the office to let Blair make his own decision. The rifle range had caught his attention, as well as the boxing and basketball teams. In no time he had his plan set. The final hitch, he would have to be pushed back to Junior classes, so as to have a chance to round out his education a bit more.

Being that it was a boarding school worked well for Blair as well as Naomi. Blair had a safe place to stay grounded for a while, and Naomi could continue to move in whatever pattern kept her feet light. She was sure to visit often; Blair hardly noticed she was gone. He was sticking to his plan.

The plan that, in the end, had ultimately failed.

Blair sighed as he walked quickly to his appointment. Sydney stood in the doorway, smiling as he saw his favorite student round the corner into the hallway.

“Good timing, Blair. We’re all here.” Sydney held out a hand, which Blair shook enthusiastically before slipping into the room. This was it, time to get a new plan back into action. And time to put aside memories of the past that would not stay silent.

o-O-o

The phone was ringing by the time he returned to his ‘office’ hours later. After being practically raked over the coals by his committee, the distraction was most welcome and he quickly answered, “Blair Sandburg.”

*#”Hey Chief. You got a minute?”#* Trust Jim to call when he was up to his elbows in everything. Taking a deep breath, he glanced around to see what was the most important he needed to worry about next. Research group, great, he had only about… 20 minutes to get across the quad, around the fountain and into the library on the other side of High street. Gods.

“Yeah, but you’re going to have to meet me at the fountain and walk with me, I’m like… out of time.” Blair dropped his papers and picked up his book bag. He could hear Jim speaking to someone else away from the phone and figured correctly that the Detective was calling on his cell phone.

*#”Not a problem, Buddy. See you in five.”#* Blair barely heard the click as they hung up their phones simultaneously. Any other time he would have thought it funny, but today he was just too harried to care.

By the time he reached the fountain, Jim was already there with Simon, of all people. Blair figured this was Jim’s ride until the truck was finished later that day. Blair sniffed as he bustled on towards the library, waving his hand to invite the two other to walk with him.

“So, what’s up?” he asked in passing. Jim grabbed his bag off his shoulder so that he could move faster and not be as winded.

“We need your help on a case, Sandburg,” Jim began. With longer legs, it was easy for the two cops to not only keep up with him, but also keep a running conversation. Blair glanced at Simon, and then back to Jim.

“Go on?” he urged. Simon carried on the conversation.

“Does the name Hector Carasco mean anything to you, kid?” At Blair’s negative shake of the head, the big man continued. “He’s suspected of arms dealing. Jim here thinks that Carasco is responsible for the weapons used in the attempted heist earlier this morning.”

They were up to High St. now and Jim reached out an arm to hold Blair back before he blundered off into the busy street. Blair took the moment to turn to Simon. “What do you need me for?”

“Well, his daughter is a student here,” Simon replied hesitantly. Blair’s gaze narrowed.

“And?” he prodded with just a hint of irritation. Jim grabbed his arm again and they were walking across the street together. Once there, Jim took up the explanation.

“It’s like this, Sandburg. We need an in with Carasco. I figured since you both go to the same school, you might… I dunno… bump into her and use the old Sandburg charm to get closer to her family.” Jim nearly collided with Blair when he slammed on the brakes, as it were and turned to face him.

“Are you nuts? You want me to… what? Seduce a student? Get in close to her family, like that’s going to help!” He was trying hard to keep his voice down, but he didn’t think he was succeeding if Jim’s nervous scan of the area was any indication. “This Carasco guy, where’s he from?”

“Chile,” Simon answered. “He’s left his country for better clientele and made his home here on an estate outside of town.”

Blair snorted, “And you expect his daughter to know anything? Man, if anything she’s so far in the dark it’s not funny. What’s she doing here?”

Jim sighed, “Pre-law. Which is why I thought you might find something out from her. Why learn about the laws of a country if you don’t intend to break them?”

“Same reason you do, man. To bring justice to those without. But that’s neither here nor there. Fact is, she’s a student. Even if I wanted to, my principles would be compromised if I tried to be anything but a teacher around her.” Blair grabbed Simon’s wrist, noted the time and grimaced. “I’m late. Look, the best I can do is meet the girl, although as an anthropologist it’s not a sure bet that I’ll run into her. If I do, I can only keep it on a purely friendly basis, as with any other student.”

Simon nodded and Jim smiled as he handed Blair’s bag back to him. “No problem Blair, anything you can do will be a help.” He turned Blair back around towards the library. “Get going, I’ll be by to pick you up around 5, unless you get another ride.”

Blair nodded as he headed up the steps. “Fine man, just remember, I’m cooking tonight and still have to stop by the store for a couple things.”

Jim waved as he and Simon left. Blair shouldered his pack and went inside. Hopefully his friends wouldn’t be too upset with him. This working two jobs was murder. He would have to think about next semester, whether or not he wanted to teach as many classes as this year, or if he wanted to cut back. With the new focus of the dissertation, he was fairly sure that something was going to have to change.

Or he was going to end up working himself to death!

o-O-o

Blair dropped his bag onto his seat, turned around and sighed as he took in the sight of a fresh stack of papers for him to go over later in the night. Another all night scan session for him. He was seriously going to have to shave off some of his workload.

Walking over to his coffee pot, he checked the filter basket, set up for half a pot and took the carafe out to fill it with water. It was a short walk down to the water fountain and a short walk back. He nearly dropped the carafe when he walked in to find a dark haired, bronze skinned goddess leaning over his desk and looking over the papers he had strewn across the blotter.

“Um… hello?” he called out tentatively. The woman stood up abruptly, her hand flicking out and sending a pile of papers to the floor. Blair raced forward, setting the pot off to the side, and began to reclaim the papers. “Oh shit!”

The woman gasped, “Oh, I am so sorry!” She began to help with the clean up, her eyes flicking up every once in a while to catch his, both embarrassed beyond belief. Eventually they had the mess returned to the desk and the woman bent down to pick up the coffee carafe, handing it to Blair with a shy smile. Blair smiled back.

“No big deal, it happens.” Blair shrugged. The young woman cautiously held a hand out to him, her eyes conveying confusion.

“Hi. I'm Maya Carasco.” She announced. Blair stared at her, equally confused for a moment. Then the mid-noon conversation with Jim and Simon popped back into memory and he nodded once, taking her hand and shaking it enthusiastically.

“Um, yeah. Blair Sandburg. I’m one of the TA’s for Anthro 101.” Blair took the carafe and poured the water into the coffee machine before turning back to Maya. “So, is there something I can do for you?”

Maya kept hold of her confused expression and suddenly Blair knew that something was up. "I think that maybe it's more a case of what I can do for you. Since I guess I work for you now?"

Blair stopped in the middle of the room, his gaze narrowing. So that’s what they did to ensure that he would run into the girl. Damn it, just for that Jim could look forward to taste testing tonight after dinner.

Acting as normal as he could, he shrugged a shoulder and asked, “I'm sorry. Is there a problem?”

Maya sighed, “No, I'm just not used to being traded from one professor to another like a used car.”

Blair blinked, “Oh hey no, I know how that feels. I’m sorry, I thought they would have actually *asked* the assistant if he or she actually wanted to… you know… assist?”

Maya appeared to be thinking this over. Finally she nodded her head, obviously in agreement and then glanced around at the office. “This is indeed a mess, is it not?”

Blair followed her gaze and grimaced visibly. “Well, um… three classes a week to teach, two to take myself, plus my other job… yeah it gets a little hectic.” He reached over and grabbed a pile of papers threatening to slide off the couch. “And, of course, this was a storage closet at first… still is, technically.”

Maya laughed as she put her bag in the corner. Blair watched her a moment, wondering how this was going to work. When he turned to put the papers on a shelf, she reached out and took them back away. “You need help with the artifacts and the maps? Not research, of course. I am not in anthropology.”

Blair nodded. “Yeah, I just… I mean, I can handle research, but as you can see I'm kind of sloppy, and anything you can do to help me with these files would be great.” He gave her his best puppy-dog eyes, and held his breath.

It must have worked as she grinned brightly and shuffled the pile from her arms to against her hip and extended her hand once again. “All right, I will help.”  
Blair blinked again, slowly taking her hand in his. “Yeah?” he asked uncertainly.

Again she smiled, “Yeah.”

Blair let loose with his full 500-megawatt grin. “Well all right then! Let me get you a cup of coffee and maybe we can figure out what to do with this mess, eh?”

Maya looked around a moment. “You ever considered filing cabinets?”

Blair stared at her with feigned surprise, “Filing cabinet? Whoa! All right, what a concept. Look at that -- you're already irreplaceable.”

His smile must have eased her thoughts and she soon was laughing with him as they made plans to organize the office. Blair was still going to get Jim for setting him up like this, but since he'd worked so hard to make it happen even after Blair had warned him about how little he would likely get in result for it… well, mentally Blair threw up his hands and went with it. For now, because Jim and Simon both at some point in time would just have to face that when it came to people, he knew what he was talking about!

o-O-o

Blair jerked around with a start when the phone on his desk rang. He glanced apologetically towards Maya as he went to answer it. “Sandburg.” Oh great, now he was beginning to sound like Jim.

*”Hey Chief.”* and speak of the devil…

“Oh, hey Jim. What time is it?” Blair asked distractedly as he handed another file to Maya to go along with the others she had stacked. She smiled in thanks and moved the entire stack over to the cabinet. Jim’s voice in Blair’s ear reminded him he still had the phone there.

*”Late, Buddy. Look, I’m sorry but I got caught here at the station, working with the ATF on this case. It’s going to be at least another hour before I’m free. You still need a ride home?”* Jim sounded as distracted as Blair was.

“Nah, man. I’ll catch a ride. Worry about your stuff, I’ll find something to eat when I get home.” Blair smiled and rolled his eyes when Maya glanced his way. On the other end, someone called for Jim and he quickly made his apologies before hanging up. Blair dropped the handset back on the base and sighed as he pushed back a few locks of unruly curls.

“That was, your lover?” Maya asked hesitantly. Blair blinked at her in confusion, then laughed lightly as he put it together.

“Oh no, Jim’s my roommate… well more than that, he’s also helping me with my research.” He picked up the last of the papers on the desk and filed them away as Maya dusted off another pottery bowl and set it on the shelf beside her. Looking around he was amazed at the results. “Wow, the place is clean!”

Maya giggled. “Jim is a teacher like you?” she picked up her bag as she attempted to reconcile the one sided phone conversation.

Blair shook his head, “Jim is a detective with Major Crimes.” Nunie growled low and Blair suddenly realized how that might have sounded. Maya spun around, her face switching emotions from surprise to confusion, and finally to disbelief.

"And you fit in there?" she asked with amusement. Blair scrunched up his face in confusion until she turned in a slow twirl, her arms outstretched to remind him of the job they had just finished. “They do not mock or ostracize you?”

Blair chuckled as he finally caught on with what she was implying. He shrugged as he said, “"Nah, they're pretty cool for a bunch of jack booted thugs."

Maya blinked at this, "Jack booted whats?"

Blair laughed out loud at her confused expression, "It's what my mom calls cops, has ever since I was little. I think that is part of the reason that I chose the topic for my dissertation, to see if I could get past my own biases and stuff, y'know?"

She nodded slowly and Blair felt that the explanation would make more sense now, “I’m doing my dissertation on closed societies, with Law Enforcement as the base. Local Police, FBI, CIA, ATF… whatever I can get my hands on. Jim’s helping me with that.”

Maya cocked her head to the side, “And you live with this cop, the one you called Jim?”

Blair shrugged. “Remember the gang war going on about two months ago? The warehouse that went up in flames was my home. Jim had the room and invited me to hang with him. It just seemed easier for me to stay.”

Maya nodded as this made complete sense to her as well. Blair mentally breathed a heavy sigh. No lies, all truth. Grabbing a broom, he started to sweep the floor in the newly cleared office. A touch on his arm brought his attention back to Maya, who was holding up a set of keys. “Perhaps I could give you a ride home?”

Blair thought about it for all of a minute before putting the broom off to the side and snagging his pack and jacket. “You are a lifesaver.”

She smiled as they walked out of the office.

o-O-o

Blair woke to the sound of the loft door closing. Rolling over he read his clock and saw that it was nearly 8am. He rolled out of bed, tossing his covers back after him in a semblance of tidying up. Stepping out of his room, he looked around for Jim, realizing that the detective had already left, and had in fact woken him on the way out.

“Damn,” he muttered as he walked into the bathroom and began his morning shower. He had only one class to take today and two tests to proctor in the afternoon. It was not likely he would be up at the station. He sighed yet again, “Damn.”

Squeezing the water out of his freshly washed hair, he dried quickly and moved on to shaving, all the while composing a report to leave for Jim. He had obfuscated successfully around Maya all through the drive home, asking her about her father and telling a little about his mother. A story of the Kombi tree people had her giggling as she turned onto Holly Street headed for Prospect.

In the end, it wasn’t very fruitful in the way of finding anything about Maya’s father. He knew that the man spent time in the greenhouse often. Presumably working on his orchids.

With his hair dry, his face shaved and his body dressed, Blair wrote his findings and left them on Jim’s bed for him to find when he got home. By then there was a knock on the door. Opening it, he smiled as Maya waited for him. “Do you have time for breakfast before your first class?”

Blair tilted his head back in thought before nodding happily. “Sure thing, let’s go.”

He closed the door, checking to be sure it locked before heading down the hallway with the young woman. He missed the twin stares of the spirit animals sitting in the dining room next to the table. Had he seen them, he might have been rather confused by their glares.

o-O-o

Blair hadn’t said a word when Maya drove them down Holly St to Lakeway Dr, and finally onto Interstate 5 south past the university. He did, however, ask what was up when they left the highway in one of the sparser areas of town, barely in the city limits. “Ok, what gives?”

Maya shrugged as she turned onto another street, this one named Oro Blvd. Blair fought hard not to roll his eyes at the obvious translation. Turning to face her, he leaned against the passenger door and cocked an eyebrow. “Right, where are we going?”

Maya grinned. “There is a wonderful place I wish to take you for breakfast, but I remembered that I get cold easily there. So I thought we should go back to my place so that I might get a sweater.”

Blair blinked. He was being conned. She knew they were coming back to her place. Amazingly enough, this played perfectly for him to get a chance to size up her father. Suddenly Blair’s chest felt heavy as he put that thought together with what he had been told by Jim and Simon. He was going to the home of a suspected gun runner. Oh Gods.

Taking a few deep, even breaths, he turned back to stare out the windshield as they crested a hill and turned the corner into the driveway of the estate. The paved road led up to a stately hacienda with a small path leading around the side that presumably ended out at the greenhouse.

Maya parked at the front door and she and Blair climbed out to walk inside. A shrewish woman in a maid’s outfit met them in the foyer. She harshly spoke to Maya for a moment. Blair pretended not to listen, but his ears heard and his mind supplied translation perfectly, much to his astonishment. *||”Maya, what are you doing here? Your father is expecting company momentarily.”||*

Maya ducked her head, blushing in embarrassment. *||”I’m sorry, Blanca, I forgot my sweater. Where is Papa?”||*

Blanca inclined her head and an older gentleman came from the side, obviously an office. Blair focused his attention on the piece of art he pretended to study. The older man walked up to Maya, concern evident on his face. “Maya? You are home early?”

Maya smiled as she tugged her father over to Blair, who turned dutifully and extended his hand during her introductions. “Father, this is Blair Sandburg. He's a grad student I'm working for at the University.”

Carasco nodded as he shook hands with Blair. “Welcome, Mr. Sandburg.”

Blair nodded back, “Thank you, you have a lovely home, sir.”

Carasco waved a hand in the direction of the painting that Blair had been admiring. “Tell me what you think?”

Blair knew this was a test; he was more than up for the challenge. “A Benitez. When I was in Brazil, I saw some of his works at an exhibition at the National Museum. He claims he collects plants from the rain forest to make his colors.”

Carasco raised an eyebrow before going on, “And that's why no one has ever been able to match his vibrancy. Not many Americans know Benitez.”

Blair shrugged, “I have seen many others in my travels.”

Maya left, saying something about heading upstairs as Blair engaged Carasco on a talk about South American artists. It was another minute or two before Carasco was interrupted by a bodyguard who whispered in the man’s ear. Carasco sighed and grimaced as he turned back to Blair. “Please excuse me. I'll only be a few minutes.”

Blair nodded his understanding as Carasco left with his body guard. As soon as they were out of the room, Blair noticed Nunie standing in one corner of the room. Blair went to stand by the animal and was astonished to find it the perfect nook to hear all parts of the house.

To his left, Blanca was in the kitchen… Above him, in her bedroom, was Maya. She was still looking for the perfect sweater, it seemed. And Carasco had gone with his man out the back and to the greenhouse. With deft steps, Blair headed for the back patio and the greenhouse. Nunie stayed behind him, and when he looked out the window, he saw Bagheera stalking towards the greenhouse.

That was enough for Sandburg and he was slipping out the door, leaving it open enough to go back in without any noise if someone came back before he was ready. Cautiously making his way towards the greenhouse, he stopped exactly where Bagheera was, his back against the wall and his ear up against a crack in the window beside him. He could hear two voices talking to each other.

“So, this is my insect problem.” This voice sounded like Carasco, and Blair wondered what exactly that problem was. He wanted to peer into the window, but Bagheera’s shoulder hit his shin and kept him back. Holding his impatience back, he listened to the voices continue.

“He was at the docks, asking questions about guns,” Vargas relayed. Blair didn’t know who ‘He’ was, but most likely it was someone they were not happy with. Asking about guns… a snitch maybe? An informant? Carasco spoke again and Blair figured he was looking directly at the man they were discussing.

“You're shaking my friend. Are you afraid? You should be.” Whimpering came from an unknown source and Blair held his breath as he heard Carasco turn to his man and pronounce judgment. “Make sure he tells you all he knows. Then, remove him from my house, and kill him."

Blair needed to hear nothing else. He was back inside the house in a shot and staring at the pottery on the shelving in the foyer. Maya skipped down the stairs with a sweater now wrapped around her shoulders. “Where is Papa?”

Blair affected a nonchalant attitude as he answered, “He had a pest problem to deal with. Ready to go now?”

Maya nodded and they were soon on their way. Blair glanced in the mirror to his right, gazing back at the house and wondering just what it was that Carasco’s man would find from the man before he killed him. The shaman sighed silently to himself as he realized that Maya’s father was indeed a very dangerous man.

Blair's focus in the mirror shifted from the house they were driving away from to the backseat of the car that had suddenly acquired two insubstantial passengers. His eyes met theirs and he couldn’t help but feel bad for Maya. When this all comes out he doesn't know what she is going to do.

o-O-o

Blair begged off breakfast, citing the need to catch up on some grading, and was grateful when Maya took him directly to Hargrove Hall. Entering the building, Blair immediately called Jim’s cell phone.

*#”Ellison”#*

“Jim, it’s me. Look I need to talk to you as soon as possible. What are you doing right now?” Blair wasted no time asking, this was important. What he had seen was too important to wait around on. That man… gods. Jim faded a bit before coming back fully on the phone.

*#”Hey, yeah Chief, I just got a call… I need to go check on something… a snitch of mine… Can it wait?”#* Jim sounded distracted. This would never do.

“He’s dead, Jim… and I need, I really need to talk to you, man. In person.” Blair had reached his office by this time and was inside with the door locked. He tossed his bag on a nearby chair and leaned a hip on his desk. Jim had fallen silent at Blair’s words, then must have said something to someone else before returning to Blair.

*#”Okay, Chief. Can you skip your classes and everything?”#* Jim sounded concerned. Blair finally felt his Sentinel was getting with the program. He nodded, even though Jim couldn’t see him, and acknowledged him verbally.

“No trouble man, I’ll meet you out front.”

*#”10 minutes, Sandburg.”#* Jim ordered.

“If I’m not there when you get there, it’s cause I’m being cautious.” Blair hung up the phone, then turned to his office phone. He called one friend to take notes in the class he was supposed to take, asked two other TA’s who owed him big to proctor his tests, and was out the door ten minutes later, headed for the main street.

Jim drove up a minute later with a dark haired, light skinned African-American woman in the passenger seat. Opening the passenger side door, he made a shooing motion with his hands, ordering her to scoot over. She frowned as she did as ordered, re-buckling herself in the middle seat.

Once he was inside with the door closed, Jim drove off. Blair was only too happy to be moving. As long as he was with his friend, he knew he was safe. He didn’t know if he had been seen by Maya’s father or the other man, but he didn’t want to take any chances. Jim leaned forward a bit to look at him and Blair simply waved him on. He glanced at the woman beside him.

“Blair Sandburg.” He introduced himself, holding out a hand. She glared at him a moment as if trying to figure out what he was before answering.

“Drennan. ATF.” Blair raised an eyebrow in her direction. So this was the source of Jim’s irritation of late. It was a safe bet that, after this case, if Jim ever spoke of her again it would go no further than speaking of a colleague. Although right now, Jim’s countenance spoke of mild irritation.

Blair shrugged and turned away, checking the mirror for cars following them. Jim must have noticed his distraction as he snapped his fingers to gain Blair’s attention. Blair leaned forward and frowned at the big guy. This was not something he wanted to discuss in front of the woman. Jim shrugged and continued driving until they reached the bay, and the crowd of police and rescue vehicles waiting for them.

Jim parked and they all exited the vehicle. Drennan headed off for the knot of officers, but Blair reached out a hand and snagged Jim’s arm instead, leading him back towards the truck. Jim gripped Blair’s arms, leaning in to hear him clearly. “Chief, you’re shaking. What happened this morning?”

Blair sighed and tried to calm himself. “Maya picked me up for breakfast. She took me out to her home and I met her father…”

“Okay, so you met Carasco, that’s good Chief, good work!” Jim praised. He must have caught sight of Blair’s sickly appearance as he stopped praising and returned to his concerned look. “Not good, I take it?”

Blair ducked his head. “I think I know what you are going to find down there, man. When Maya went upstairs to get a sweater, Carasco got called out by one of his body guards. I happened to listen in on their conversation. Someone had been found at the docks, asking too many questions.” He stopped to catch his breath as he looked up at Jim and finished his story, “Jim, they called him a ‘Pest Problem’ and killed him.”

Jim swore loudly, “Does Maya know?”

Blair shook his head, “No man, we got out of there right after and I told her I had to get to the school early. I called you as soon as I could.”

Jim nodded and motioned for Blair to stay with the truck while he went off to see where Drennan had gone. One of the officers moved a bit closer to Jim’s truck obviously at the behest of his friend, and so Blair felt a little better about climbing back inside to wait.

It was a short wait as Jim and Drennan soon returned to the truck and climbed in on either side. Blair climbed into the back, taking yet another measure of comfort in being blocked from enemies by his protector and the ATF agent. At his enquiring look Jim nodded. “Yeah Chief, it’s him… looked like he’s been hacked to pieces with a machete.”

“Oh man,” breathed the young shaman. Drennan sat stiffly, lips pressed tightly together. Jim didn’t look at her, instead choosing to twist around enough to get a look at Blair.

“Do you need to get back to the University? Or anywhere else…?”

Blair shook his head. “Schedule is empty as of now, man.”

Jim smiled in sympathy, “Good, then you wouldn’t mind coming in with us and maybe helping with some computer searches?”

“What?” interrupted Drennan, she glared at Jim piercingly and snarled, “Just who is this guy anyway? He’s not a cop, yet you’re feeding him all this information?”

“Pipe down, Drennan, this is my partner.” Jim snarled back at her, “Blair’s a consultant with the department, an Anthropology student working on his Ph.D. He’s helped us on several occasions, and he’s been tapping Carasco’s daughter for information. Unfortunately he heard something unsettling that has to do with our suspect and I want to keep him some place safe for a while.”

Jim turned and started the truck, reversing gear and pointing back towards headquarters. “And right now, at this moment, that’s as close to me as possible.”

Blair sighed in relief and settled back for the ride. It was another half hour before they reached the station and Blair was only too glad to exit the truck and head for the elevator. He only hoped he didn’t have to actually ride up with the ATF lady as Jim all but dragged her over to the side to speak to her. He was indeed lucky, hopping into the nearest car with another officer, and riding to the eighth floor.

Reaching Jim’s desk, Blair started off by firing up the computer and dropping his pack behind the extra chair he had appropriated from a nearby desk that was not using it at the time. Simon stepped out and glanced Blair’s way, stepped back in and grabbed something, then reached around and showed his coffeepot to Blair. The young man immediately headed his direction, Jim’s and his cups in hand. “You are the man, Captain.”

Simon snorted and poured coffee. “I thought you had University work today?”

Blair shuddered, “There’s been a complication. I have to file a report on an overheard conversation involving Hector Carasco and his body guard.”

Simon raised both brows in surprise, “Something I need to know?”

Blair started to explain when the elevator opened and Jim stalked through the bullpen. Drennan came in as well, her head held stiffly and her eyes shifting back and forth. Obviously the talk had not gone over well. Blair sighed and turned to hand off Jim’s coffee to him. To Simon he replied, “Later, Captain. Jim and I need to get work done.”

Turning away from the Captain, Blair went back to Jim’s desk, settling in behind the computer and typing in commands. Jim stayed in the Captain’s office while Drennan stared around her, obviously vaguely lost. Blair turned his focus to the computer, not exactly ignoring the woman, but not drifting off on focus either. He wasn’t surprised when, a minute or two later, Drennan came and sat in his normal chair.

“So what exactly is it you do here?” she asked dryly. Blair smirked briefly before typing in more information for his report.

“I help out where I can give advice… I’m really working on my doctoral thesis on closed societies… using the police and other law enforcement agencies as the focus. Since Jim is one of the best Detectives, works with all aspects of the business, Captain Banks thought it best to pair me up with him.” Blair grinned at Drennan’s snort.

“I’m surprised you get any study going on around him. He doesn’t strike me as one to answer questions easily.” She sighed and stretched a bit, obviously attempting to relax in the cramped space. Blair had noticed that, even without heels, she was easily almost as tall as Jim. He canted his head to the side and answered her unspoken question.

"Oh, he answers questions easily enough, you just have to know how to ask, and when. That can be really important.” He paused for a moment, giving her a sidelong glance, testing to see what her reaction could be. She didn’t appear to be taking offence so he turned back to the screen and continued. “See Jim, he used to be an Army Ranger and so to him knowing when to do something is almost as important as knowing what to do, and why. Guess that might be 'cause he worked his way up through the ranks and learned that if you had the ability to lead then by gods, you should.”

Drennan never interrupted Blair, so when he looked over his shoulder and caught her perplexed look, he figured he had a little explaining to do. He turned away from the computer and met her gaze full on. “Miscommunications in the field tend to end in disaster after all, and if he thinks he has the best grasp over anyone sent to 'help' - well, they should just step back and take their cues from him shouldn't they? He does tend to have the 'home-field' advantage in any investigation conducted here in Cascade, wouldn't you agree?"

Drennan eyed him warily; it looked like she was weighing the actual content of what he had said against the tone and delivery he had used. His method of informing her might have been offbeat, but then again so was he. Eventually she nodded decisively and said, "You really are his partner, aren’t you. It's not about this study you are doing, you are there to watch his back and he watches yours."

Blair shrugged and turned back to his report.

“Yeah, Jim and I, he calls us partners. I call us friends. It all translates out to the same thing, right? We are there for each other when it counts.” Blair returned his focus completely to the computer screen, putting Drennan out of his mind. He really needed to get this report done for Jim. He didn’t notice when Drennan stood up and walked away in thought.

o-O-o

After finishing the report and running a few searches on various information that Jim had wanted to follow up on, Blair ran out of things to do. So he started to tackle some of the paperwork that Jim had been struggling with. After reading the first page, he understood the problem. Jim was no good at obfuscation. Blair chuckled lightly as he turned back to the computer and started making new reports.

He didn’t know where Jim was, or Drennan for that matter, but he knew that Simon was still in the office, so he felt safe for the moment. So he was woefully unprepared when madcap hooting and hollering sounds started to resound from the Captain's office. Leaping to his feet, he raced to the Captain’s office, knocking once and letting himself inside.

Simon was doing some odd jig behind his desk as he held the phone. He motioned with the receiver, "Your partner here is a genius! He did it! Granted, it's not exactly how I would have done it, but...”

"That's Jim on the line?" Blair interrupted the Captain’s jubilant spiel. Simon nodded and Blair asked, "Put him on speaker?"

Simon shrugged and did so. Blair nodded his thanks and then leaned against the conference table, his arms folded across his chest.

"So you guys want to explain what's been going on? If you haven't noticed, I’ve been a little in the dark since Jim dropped me off. Starting to feel a real kinship with mushrooms here, and I gotta admit I'm not liking it much."

Simon raised a brow, and Jim on the line huffed a bit. Simon explained, "Jim was out at the docks, following up on a lead. He and Drennan found guns being smuggled in on a ship from Columbia, under the disguise of coffee beans. Dogs can’t sniff past the smell.”

"Dammit Jim!" Blair exploded, but then he quickly reined himself in and continued in a much calmer tone he was rather proud of. "You’re lucky Jim, that you could handle it, but man - what would have happened if you had zoned out there?”

Simon opened his mouth and Blair rounded on him too, "Don't Simon, just don't. You think I haven't noticed how you two have been leaving me out of the loop? It was like after the two of you found out I wouldn't seduce some young woman to gain information about her father I became a liability or something! Then you send Jim off partnered with some ATF person to a bust where he needs to use his senses, when you *know* he can't use his senses effectively without me. What am I here for then?"

Simon glared at the younger man but Blair didn't flinch. He did shut up.

"You done?"

Blair nodded.

"Good. Now, let me tell *you* a few things. You weren't left out of the loop - not intentionally - Jim improvised, it's something he is good at if you recall."

*#"Hey! It worked!"#*

“I’m not saying it didn’t Jim, but if Sandburg’s right you were damn lucky tonight. You shouldn’t have been mucking around with the Sentinel shit without him. But what’s done is done.” Simon sighed and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. To Blair he said, “It was never our intention to shut you out, kid. We trusted you with the daughter and didn’t want to step on your toes.”

Blair dropped his eyes, and stared at said toes for a moment. When he looked up at Simon again it was to find the man's warm brown eyes staring back at him. Assessing his state of mind no doubt. It wouldn't do any of them any good if he went off the deep end would it? Seeing that Blair was back and rational Simon chided, “Next time, son, don’t go jumping to conclusions without all the facts.”

Blair sighed and nodded reluctantly. Then Simon turned to the speaker and spoke up just a little louder, although it wasn’t needed. “Jim, no more cowboy stunts like this. Learn to play nice with everyone on your team.”

*#”Yes, sir.”#*

Simon nodded, accepting the clipped response and turning to other things. “Now get your ass back here and finish out your report, Detective. Then you can take your ‘Partner’ home, hear me?”

*#”Understood, Simon... I’m on my way, Chief.”#* He clicked the phone off and Simon cut the connection from his own side. He looked back at the sullen expression still on Blair’s face.

The Shaman moved to leave the office, his eyes not meeting Simon’s. He paused in the act of opening the door, his last words soaked in misery, “Drennan said that Jim and I were partners... gotta admit, I don't feel much like his partner right now, Simon.”

o-O-o

  
Home was more silence as Blair hung up his coat and removed his shoes before moving off to the kitchen to make his tea. It had been a very long day, and most of it had happened only that morning. He wasn’t sure what he was going to tell Maya about her father, but hopefully it would come to him before he saw her again.

Jim remained somewhere behind him, but Blair didn’t say anything to him yet. He was still processing what had happened tonight. First the death of the snitch, then the being left behind, and to top it off, Jim found that huge shipment of guns obviously bound for the U.S. Yakuza clans. Blair didn’t want to think about any of it.

“My turn to cook, right?” asked the Shaman of his Sentinel. Jim might have nodded, he didn’t know.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” came the answer a moment later. Blair nodded, but he didn’t know if Jim saw it. He didn’t really care either. His silence must have been unnerving for the big man. He had been silent all the way home from the station. Not a word spoken about any of it. Not even to ask if Jim’s senses were okay.

It wasn’t meant as a punishment, it was a statement he was making. He would know when he had succeeded when Jim made the first move. The silence was deafening in the loft, but Blair didn’t mind. He pulled out the casserole he had frozen a few days before and began to cook it in the oven while he took a quick shower. Jim sat in the living area, sipping a beer, and said nothing. The stalemate continued.

Jim ended it after he had cleaned up from dinner, taking two bottles of beer and joining Blair on the couch. He reached over and took the Anthro journal Blair was reading, laying it on the table and turning comfortably to stare at him.

“Chief, I’m worried about my sense of smell... those coffee beans didn’t bother me, but Drennan’s perfume was *way* over the top, you know?”

Blair turned to look at Jim... and smiled. “Sure man, tell me where your dial is right now.”

And so it went for an hour, testing every sense until Jim’s headache (which he had not mentioned) was gone and through the form of work, their bond was soothed. In the end Jim apologized, Blair accepted it, and they went on. When they had settled for the night, Blair asked Jim the one thing he had been dreading.

“How do I tell Maya?”

Jim sipped his beer before grunting, “I have no idea... she’s a nice girl, but I think she’s going sweet on ya, Teach.”

Blair sighed, “I noticed. She’s going to have seen the News report tonight on the bust. She’s going to think I set her father up. She knows I work with the police.”

Jim reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “If nothing else, you can tell your side and let her make up her own mind. You didn’t lie to her, set out to deceive her or take advantage of her.”

Blair looked up at his friend, “She’s going to hate me, isn’t she?”

Jim shrugged, “Only if you give her a reason to do so.”

o-O-o

The next day, Jim let Blair off to pick up his car, promising to make something decent for dinner. Blair grimaced as he thought of all he had to catch up on that day. “Man, I don’t know if I’ll be able to come in today.”

Jim shook his head, “Take your time, Buddy. Drennan and I are most likely going to be working on catching Carasco and the Yakuza. No sense work, I promise.”

Blair smiled, “Cool. Hey, if you wouldn’t mind, invite Drennan over tonight? I could use some insight into the ATF in my dissertation.”

Jim waved and nodded before heading out and they parted ways with a smile. Blair went to get his car from the shop, knowing it was going to cost a pretty penny. He went to pay his bill, trying not to think about what the bodywork alone was going to set him back. Hopefully he had enough in his savings account to cover it. This was not going to be pleasant.

Turned out that it wasn't pleasant, it was mind blowing. Walking in expecting to fork over a large chunk of change he could ill afford to part with and being told it was already all paid – talk about a major gift horse. Of course, him being who he was, he wanted to know how.

The mechanic informed him easily enough when he asked.

"Jimbo managed to get your Corvair here registered as a casual police vehicle; means 80% of the tab for its repairs were paid for by the city. And Jim paid the remaining 20%..." the mechanic's look was speaking and speculative when he imparted that last bit of information and Blair had to fight back the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He sighed and thought, 'Damn, Jim, what the hell?' He really was going to have to talk to the man about this big-brother slash caretaker role the older man was trying to assume on his ass. He'd been on his own for a long time now; he didn't need anybody looking out for him.

He put all that aside as he made his way to the University. He couldn't do anything about any of it now; he was better off just refocusing on something he could deal with – what he had to do when he got to the school.

Upon his arrival on campus, he went straight to Hargrove and his office. Checking his messages once he got there he found Maya had called, she wanted him to know she was sorry but wasn't going to be in today. She was sure he would be able to get somebody to help him finish the last of the sorting. He shrugged his shoulders and carried on with his day. He had the tests to grade, and two classes to get to that day, and he couldn’t afford to skip them today.

At lunch, he checked in to see if Maya had been around. He was told by the registrar that Maya had not been to any of her classes that day. This worried him so he figured he’d give her a call. He got no answer from her cell phone. Shrugging, he finished his office hours and sat down behind his desk to get started on the tedious process of grading papers.

It was late when the door to his office opened and she walked in. Blair glanced up and sighed. This was it, time to face the music. Only he had no idea what sort of dance he was about to begin. Maya was going to have to lead, no matter how alien a set up that was to her, and set the tempo. Her first step was cautious, carefully balanced to test the waters, so to speak.

“Last night on the news. The Detective Ellison who arrested all those men. That was your Jim?” Her words were soft yet clear. Blair met her eyes squarely.

“Yes.”

She walked over to an empty chair and sat on the edge carefully, her eyes staring down at the floor. "The ship, the 'Esmerelda', that they mentioned on the news..."

Blair moved out of his chair, kneeling down at her feet. “Maya, do you know about the ship?”

Looking down into his eyes with eyes that were liquid with tears she whispered, "No, but my mother's name - it was Esmeralda."

Blair nodded, he could see why she would have made the connection she did. Still kneeling at her feet, he placed a warm hand on one of her knees like an anchor and told her, “Maya, the ship was registered out of Chile. It was carrying coffee beans... and illegal weapons.”

Maya snapped her gaze to his. “Jim thinks... *you* think my father has something to do with this?”

“Maya, I don’t know what to think.” Blair soothed, his fingers rubbing gentle circles on her knee. He sighed as he struggled for the best answers to give her.

"It wasn’t a coincidence, was it, that I was assigned to help you sort out your unholy mess at the same time your friend was assigned the case that dealt with my father as his prime suspect?" Maya’s pleading eyes nearly broke Blair’s heart. He shook his head slowly.

“Nope. Jim and his Captain, they were the ones who got you assigned to me," Blair chuckled. "Well they were also the ones who wanted me to talk to you. Y'see, if you notice, I am pretty good at getting people to talk about themselves.”

“So they asked you to spy on my father, through me?” Maya accused. Blair shook his head again.

“No, they wanted to know what you knew. Which was nothing, and I told them so. I only told them what I knew... Including the meeting your father had with his bodyguard, regarding a spy at the docks.” Blair wanted to die from the pained expression in her eyes.

“What... what did they say?” she asked. Blair looked away, but her fingers on his chin begged his cooperation. “I think I can trust you, Blair... You have not lied to me since we met.”

Blair sighed before he explained about the greenhouse, the screams, the body... “We left before it happened, but the body was found and Jim was told... it was a snitch of his who had been caught at the docks.”

“And you believe my father had something to do with the death?” Maya charged him. Blair looked her square in the eyes and told her,

“He ordered Vargas to kill the man.”

Maya shuddered and looked away. Blair was about to say something else when the phone rang on his desk. He picked it up quickly, “Sandburg.”

*#”Hey kid it’s me. I think we have him figured out.”#* Jim sounded so excited. Blair sighed as he turned to look at Maya. *#”We traced Carasco’s billings back.”#*

“Jim.”

*#”He's been running guns through South American rebels for the C.I.A. and skimming off the top so he can turn around and sell them back in the States.”#*

“Jim!”

*#”We're inches away from making our case here, Chief.”#*

“JIM!” Blair’s voice hit that hard edge he usually only reserved for hard headed jock students who thought they had an easy out class in Anthropology. Jim sputtered to a halt with a squeak,

*#”What?”#*

Blair sighed, “Man, now might not be a good time. Maya’s here.” There was silence on the other end of the line.

*#”Is she all right?”#* asked the cop. Blair met Maya’s gaze before answering.

"How 'bout I put you on speaker? That way you can ask her yourself and you can tell us both what to do from here. Okay?" He waited for Jim’s agreement before hitting the button and continuing, "All right man, give us what you got."

*#"Well, as I was saying Chief, looks like our case is made - it's all over but for the fat lady singing. Sorry Maya, I know it's your father we are talking about..."#*

Maya's smile was tremulous, but her voice was strong when she answered the detective on the open line. "It's alright Detective, I know this isn't personal." She turned to wipe away her tears as Blair looked searchingly in her direction.

Giving her the privacy she seemed to want Blair picked up the handset once again and clicked off the speaker before he asked, "Okay, that’s great Jim. Now what about Maya?” His eyes caught Maya's when she turned back to look at him in surprise. Jim’s voice went away for a second, but then came back strong.

*#“Chief, I don’t think it’s such a good idea she go home tonight. There’s a possibility that she will warn her father before we are ready. Even if it’s by accident, we don’t need the grief it would cause. I’m not going to be home so why don’t you take her to the loft. Call it Protective Custody... and then tomorrow maybe you two can get some of her things.”#* Jim wound down to a halt and Blair raised a brow and mouthed the words ‘My place tonight?’. Maya nodded once in agreement.

“Not a problem Jim. Be careful.” Blair hung up moments before Maya burst into tears. With tissues and a strong shoulder, the Shaman held the heartbroken woman and allowed her to release her pain.

o-O-o

They were up early the next morning. Blair had given up his room for Maya to have privacy. Jim never came home, but had called to tell Blair to use his bed for the night, he didn’t mind. It wasn’t the first time Blair had slept in the Sentinel’s bed. But the last time he had been sleeping *with* his friend.

Instead he slept alone, on the far side, and woke before the alarm the next morning. He had breakfast ready for himself and Maya before she awoke, and let the young woman borrow one of his sweaters to wear as well. Their plan was to wait until Jim called before they went out to get Maya’s things. But after another hour, Blair became worried and called Simon. He was told that the Captain was out and incommunicado.

“I really think we should wait for Jim,” he finally said when Maya asked for the third time how much longer the wait would be.

“Blair, I am afraid. We don’t even know if my father has left the house. What if he is not going to go?” Maya paced the living room impatiently. She was nervous and Blair didn't know how long he was going to be able to contain her. He glanced at the spirit animals, watched as they muttered and growled. Finally, he came to a decision.

“Right, let’s go,” he said as he grabbed her leather jacket and handed it to her. She walked out of the loft with him and down to the Corvair. In short order they were on the highway headed to her home.

Arriving in front of the house, Blair noticed that the Carasco sedan was not in sight. “He might be gone after all,” he said. Maya nodded and climbed out of the car.

“Stay here, I will get a bag packed and be back in a moment.” Maya said as she headed for the door. Blair nodded, looking around fearfully. There was no guarantee that Carasco and Vargas were gone already. Jim and Simon didn’t know when the meeting was set to be.

Nunie stood to the side, leaning against Blair’s leg. With a yip Blair’s attention was brought down to the spirit wolf and a look passed between them. Blair sighed, “Oh shit... fine let’s do this.”

This vision was not like regular. As he watched the filmstrip of his mind, he could actually *hear* voices being raised inside the house. Instead of what could have been, Nunie had opened Blair’s ‘third eye’, allowing him to *see* what was going on in this very instance.

*||Maya flounced in through the front door, yelling loudly. “Papa! Where are you, we need to talk!”||*

*||Hector Carasco stepped out of his office his guard Vargas behind him. Blanca came from the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel. Maya stood in the foyer, her hands on her hips and her head held high. “Corazon... Que pasa? Blanca told me you never got home last night. What's the matter?” ||*

*||Hector reached out a hand to his daughter only to be rebuffed violently. Her first attack was at her father. “You lied to me. You said you were not in any of this, yet what do I see on the television? Your ship. Your men!” Vargas stepped forward with a menacing air about him, but he too was ignored.||*

*||“You have been hiding the truth from me for years. How do I know I can trust you?” Maya snapped, her Chilean temper nearing its peak. “How do I know that anything you have told me has been true? My whole life could have been a lie!”||*

*||“Enough!” yelled Hector. He snatched out a hand and slapped the girl across her face. “You will not disrespect me ever again!”||*

*||Waving a hand to Blanca, he shoved Maya at the woman, “Take her upstairs to her room.”||*

*||Maya sputtered as Blanca herded her up the stairs. Hector glared at her, “When I return, you and I will discuss this, do you understand? Perhaps I have been giving you too much freedom here, letting you go to school. I will think on this later.”||*

The vision ended abruptly and left Blair swaying gently. “Damn,” he muttered as he looked down at Nunie. “Go find her, I’ll go around and see if I can find her window. We have to get her out of there.”

Nunie yipped and sprinted in through the closed door as if it were nothing. Blair walked through the side gate and started looking at the windows upstairs, trying to remember the floor plan of the estate from the last time he had visited. He didn’t notice the shadow behind him and his last feeling was the dull thud to the back of his head as the lights went out.

o-O-o

Nunie felt it as soon as it happened, the awareness in the back of his mind told him something was wrong, that his Shaman had been knocked out. This wasn't good. It was also something he hadn't foreseen, but then he wasn't infallible, was he? He was just a spirit animal, a creature that had its own idiosyncrasies of the plus and minus variety.

A very big minus was how very little he could do to help his Shaman at the moment. But wait, the girl! If Nunie followed the last instructions the Shaman had given him he might just be able to use enough power to nudge her into doing something to help. He flashed through the mansion to find the girl in her room packing. She was just looking around a last time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything when Nunie struck.

He 'pushed' her, with the leftover energy he had from being connected to a Shaman, into looking out the window overlooking her father's house. It was just in time for her to see Vargas carrying the limp form of Blair over his shoulder into the greenhouse. She paled.

"Oh no... Blair." she whispered.

She dithered for a moment; she obviously didn't know what to do. Then, she headed for the door, only to stop when she heard the old man, her father speaking to the other woman and his man downstairs.

“Vargas, I have the information. The army weapons convoy leaves Fort Brickman at 3:00.” Her father’s voice began to fade and Nunie knew that he was headed for the front door. But the other man’s voice halted him.

“We got a problem.” Nunie heard no more, but that was not necessary. The girl must have agreed as she went back into her room and shut the door.

The girl grabbed her phone and called the police, asking for Detective Ellison. Nunie left the girl, racing for the hot house to keep an eye on his charge. He only hoped that Bagheera’s charge was not too busy to come help. With the Sentinel’s target still at the house, the meeting obviously had not happened yet.

Life could be so complicated at times. As the wolf reached his Shaman’s side, he heard the old man speak with his man. He noticed that the Shaman was awake again and looked very upset. But the Shaman could not use his voice, as his mouth was covered. His greatest weapons denied him, the Shaman was helpless only to listen.

“I knew I could not trust you... teacher... teach my daughter to not trust her father,” said the old man as he glared at the Shaman. “Perhaps it is time for *you* to learn something from me?” He pressed his machete against the Shaman’s throat. Nunie growled in anger when his Shaman could not.

The other man leaned close, staying the old man’s hand. “Senor Carasco, wait. I understand your anger. But with the police closing in on us and our operation tonight, we may need a hostage.”

Nunie chuffed a sigh of relief. The voice of reason indeed. Even amongst the enemy. The old man looked back at his man and then nodded once. “All right. You stay here. If he is here, then so is Maya. Watch over her. Protect her. If the police come, whatever you do, don't kill him. I reserve that pleasure for myself.”

“Si, senor,” answered the man. Nunie and the Shaman glanced at each other with hope in their eyes. Perhaps the Sentinel would be there in time.

o-O-o

Bagheera was uncomfortable. He had not been able to re-connect with Nunie the night before and on top of that, he was sure something bad was about to happen to the Shaman. He just had a feeling. It wasn't new. And then, even more annoying was this new female warrior and his Sentinel's need to 'understand' her.

To Bagheera, she was a nuisance. Because of her, the Sentinel had lost a valuable person of information, as well as the element of surprise on the boat at the docks. And now the Sentinel was listening to her explain the loss of her mate. As if that was any excuse. She was trouble, plain and simple. But Bagheera knew that the Shaman would encourage this, so the great cat kept his peace about it. But he wished he knew what was going on with Nunie and the Shaman.

The Sentinel walked by his desk as the phone rang. Reaching out to answer it, Bagheera felt the shivering cold of wrongness that meant the Shaman was in danger. Nunie must have his paws full this time.

“Ellison.”

*”It’s Maya Carasco. I don’t know what to do; Blair and I came to get my things. We had hoped that my father was already gone.”* The voice on the other end of the line sounded frantic. Bagheera began to pace impatiently.

“All right, Maya, slow down. What's going on?” The Sentinel picked up a writing implement and a paper to write on while Bagheera strained to leave quickly. From the phone, the girl’s voice came again, telling the Sentinel everything she knew. He wrote what he needed down before speaking to her again. “All right, listen to me, Maya. Go into your room and lock the door and do not come out until I get there. I'm on my way.”

Bagheera snorted as the other female arrived quickly. The Sentinel was delusional surely. What female ever did as told? Look at the female warrior, for one.

Yet the Sentinel was in a hurry, thankfully, and did not question his thoughts as he glared at the female and called, “Let's go.”

Bagheera was already running for the stairs.

o-O-o

Blair sighed around the gag as he struggled with his hands again. He didn’t know where Maya was, but he was hoping that she would call Jim soon. This being tied up thing was getting old. In his next life, he wanted to be something a bit less stressed... like a sloth.

He glanced to his right and saw Nunie sitting next to him. He really would have loved to speak to the wolf right about now, but that was impossible with this rag stuck in his mouth. Nunie stared back at him for a moment, then cocked his wolfy head to the side and yipped. Blair looked the other way and saw Maya come cautiously into the hot house.

When she reached him, she removed the gag quickly. “Blair.”

Blair looked around quickly, giving her instruction as he did so. “Maya, did you call Jim?”

“Yes. He’s on his way,” she replied as she attempted to untie his hands. He leaned forward, looking over her shoulder and sitting forward to expose his hands more.

“Get the machete over there.”

He kept watch as she quickly found the machete and cut the ropes on his hands. Just as she had sliced through the ropes on his feet, he caught sight of Vargas coming in the house behind her. “Move!”

Blair shoved Maya out of the way as Vargas came at her with a gun in his hand. The two men began to struggle. Blair didn’t know if Maya was out of the house or not, but he fought with Vargas and the gun, hoping she was already gone.

Even though the other man was bigger, Blair knew a thing or two about fighting, and he used every trick in the book to keep the man off guard. He could hear Nunie in the background, but he had no time to look, his eyes and hands on the gun in Vargas’ hand.

Now was a time when Blair wished his partner was here!

o-O-o

Bagheera was out of the truck before it had stopped in the drive, his powerful legs carrying him to Nunie who was standing over the young woman, guarding her. The cat looked over his shoulder and watched as the Sentinel and the other female came around the corner, but they became pinned down when a female from the house opened fire on them.

“Jim! Look out!” the female officer yelled. The Sentinel ducked down and fired on the woman in the house. The female with the Sentinel also fired. Together they shot the woman, killing her dead. Nunie nudged Bagheera and looked back over his shoulder to the hot house.

o-O-o

Blair ducked another swing from Vargas and snatched at the gun one more time. The force of his charge sent them both through the wall and on the ground, rolling over each other and struggling with the gun. Suddenly the gun went off.

With a shove, Blair rolled Vargas off of him and onto his back. A gulp and a sigh and Blair climbed to his feet, looked down at the man, shrugged, and walked away. He had heard more shooting towards the front of the house. Hopefully that was Jim. Hopefully, Maya was safe. Hopefully this case was over.

o-O-o

  
Blair typed up his latest notes in his room while Jim and Drennan worked on noodles out in the kitchen. He smiled as he listened to the easy camaraderie between the two law enforcement officers. It was a far cry from the beginning of the case and Blair figured that the two must have come to some sort of understanding.

As had he and Maya Carasco. The young woman had been upset with her father’s duplicity, but she was determined not to let it stop her from seeing a dream finished. Blair had suggested to Simon that Carasco’s business associates might try to use Maya against her father while he was in prison. So for her protection, she might benefit from the FBI’s witness protection program. Simon was only too pleased to help.

Drennan was also pleased to help Blair with some insight into partners and the feelings that one will have when losing another. He was adding these notes now when he heard a knock on the door. A moment of silence in the front room and the curtain covering his door was held to the side as Maya stepped in. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Blair jumped to his feet and walked the short distance to hug the young woman. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

Maya nodded sharply. “I am on my way out now. Your Captain Banks spoke with the FBI and they are taking me away this afternoon.”

Blair nodded. “They found a place so you can finish your schooling?”

“Yes... thank you.” Maya tried to smile, but Blair could see that it was hard for her.

“Maya... if I could have changed things for you...” he trailed off. Maya raised her eyes and smiled sadly, shaking her head.

“You could not have. You were a good friend, Blair. Thank you.” She let him hug her, silent tears falling down her cheeks. “I will not forget you.”

Blair smiled for them both as he squeezed her gently. “You know where to find me if you ever need me.”

She nodded as she released him and turned for the door. She left without a goodbye and Blair did not press for one. This was not goodbye. They would meet again someday.

When the door clicked shut Blair went back to his room in silence. A moment or two later and the door opened and shut again. Blair wasn’t surprised when Jim came to the doorway. “You okay, Chief?”

Blair looked back at him, “Never better man. I’m almost done here, then we can have those noodles. Is Drennan still here?”

“She left.” Jim sighed. Blair sighed in commiseration.

“Sorry man. I know I’m probably a damper to your relationships here.”

Jim shook his head and came in to sit on the bed next to Blair. “Nah, kid. It ain’t you. She’s just not my type. I learned a long time ago that dating a co-worker, or someone in the same field, is a hassle.”

Blair grinned in understanding. The two sat in silence for a moment before Jim made a move.

“Give me a direction to look, Sandburg. You shy away from weapons, yet you know how to use them well. Without hesitation, you defend yourself against Carasco’s man, with his own weapon. And you don’t even blink.” Jim sighed as he leaned forward and dropped his head in his hands. “Help me understand.”

Blair gazed up at the ceiling, he had been afraid of this. He met Jim’s gaze squarely... time for truth. “Had I been able to find your backup weapon that night with David Lash here in the loft... it would have gone down a lot differently man.”

Jim held Blair’s gaze steadily for a moment. “Bottom drawer, right side of my dresser... it’s a combination lock. My Birthday.”

Blair nodded. “Got it man. Thanks.”

Jim returned the nod. “Hungry? Still some noodles left.”

Blair jumped up and headed out of the room, “Sounds good Jim. I’m starved!” He smiled back at Jim, then noticed Nunie and Bagheera sitting on his bed and stopped, spinning around and letting Jim go first. “I forgot something man, be right there.”

Jim smiled as he went out, letting the curtain drop into place. Blair walked over to the bed, reaching out a hand and stroking each great head reverently. No words were passed between them, none were needed. They all three knew that this was yet another case down, another step on the path of destiny.  



End file.
